Definition of Interest Inventories

Interest inventories constitute one of a variety of different assessment tools applied in the career and vocational context. While each assessment tool has a particular purpose or related purposes, usually a battery of two or more assessment types yields higher quality results.

Identification

The term interest inventory refers to a testing tool that offers a standardized testing protocol designed to identify and measure the sorts of things that interest the test taker, as indicated at the Riley Guide website.

Purpose - Matching

The first of two purposes of an interest inventory involves suggesting potential career matches based on the interests the test attributes to the individual.

Purpose - Planning

A second purpose deals with planning, the means to accomplish such a career path. This has particular value, for those applying the results of the interest inventory toward planning a college curriculum leading toward a future career or for those changing careers later in life.

Self-Directed

Although a vocational or guidance counselor can help the test taker interpret the results more clearly, interest inventories typically function as a self-directed test.

Examples

Some examples of well-known interest inventories include the self-assessment exercises in "What Color is Your Parachute?," the Strong Interest Inventory and the CareerKey assessment.

References

• http://www.rileyguide.com/assess.html